Conventionally, a vehicle is provided with a washer apparatus for discharging cleaning fluid toward a front window and a rear window when wiping the front window and the rear window with wipers. One example of the washer apparatus is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-222262 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-287527.
The washer apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-222262 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-287527 has a washer pump and a valve apparatus. The washer pump has: a pump main body provided with a suction port and a pump chamber; an impeller rotatably provided to the pump chamber; an electric motor for rotating the impeller in forward and backward directions; a first conduit and a second conduit connected to the pump chamber; a first flow channel which guides cleaning fluid to a front window; and a second flow channel which guides cleaning fluid to a rear window.
On the other hand, the valve apparatus has a valve body accommodation chamber to which the first conduit and the second conduit are connected and the first flow channel and the second flow channel are connected; and a valve body provided to the valve body accommodation chamber. The valve body is integrally formed of rubber-like elastic material, and supported by a housing forming the valve body accommodation chamber. The housing is provided with a support portion. With the outer circumference of the valve body fitted into the support portion, the valve body is supported by the housing.
In the washer apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-222262 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-287527, when the impeller is rotated by motive power of the electric motor, cleaning fluid in a washer tank is suctioned into the pump chamber via the suction port. As a result, a pressure difference is generated between the two sides of the valve body in accordance with the rotation direction of the impeller, and the valve body is elastically deformed by the pressure of cleaning fluid, thereby opening one of the first flow channel and the second flow channel and closing the other of the first flow channel and the second flow channel. Then, by changing the rotation direction of the electric motor, cleaning fluid can be selectively discharged to either the front window or the rear window.